Andalusia’s Oleoestepa Awarded Gold at 2021 NYIOOC

Spanish producer Oleoestepa has won a Gold Award at the 2021 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world's most prestigious olive oil quality contest.

This award, of which we are very proud due to its great importance for the U.S. market, reinforces the Oleoestepa cooperative as one of the extra virgin olive oil producers most recognized for its high quality.

Oscar Rodriguez, marketing manager

In the 2020/21 crop year, the company produced 35 million liters of organic extra virgin olive oil in Andalusia using traditional methods. Oleoestepa earned the Gold Award for its Egregio brand, an organic medium blend.

"This award, of which we are very proud due to its great importance for the U.S. market, reinforces the Oleoestepa cooperative as one of the extra virgin olive oil producers most recognized for its high quality, certified by the Estepa PDO." Oscar Rodriquez, the company's marketing manager, said.

For the producers behind Oleoestepa, the 2020 crop year was challenging for several reasons, but still yielded a high-quality end result.

"Despite being a dry year, the production in the region of the Estepa PDO was in the average of the last years, standing out for the high quality of the fruit," Rodriguez said. "The Covid -19 pandemic involved the implementation of strict sanitary controls in the 18 associated oil mills during the reception of the fruit and the extraction of the extra virgin olive oil."

The NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, held each spring in New York, is the world's largest and most prestigious olive oil contest. Its annual listing of award winners is considered the authoritative guide to the year’s best extra virgin olive oils.

The complete list of winners can be viewed on the Official Index of the World's Best Olive Oils.